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CNN International: Ukraine: Russian Strike On Supermarket Leaves 11 Dead; Drone Strike In Lipetsk Comes After Russia Accuses Ukraine Of Cross-Border Incursion In Kursk Region; U.S., Qatar & Egypt Make Renewed Push For Gaza Ceasefire. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired August 09, 2024 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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RAHEL SOLOMON, HOST, "CNN NEWSROOM": Good morning or good evening, depending on where you're watching. I'm Rahel Solomon live in New York.

Ahead on CNN Newsroom, Russia's war in Ukraine showing no sign of letting up. This as a Russian strike hits a supermarket in Ukraine, injuring dozens of people and killing at least 11. Plus, Donald Trump reverses course and commits to squaring off against Kamala Harris on the debate stage in September. I will discuss with my panel. And we are live at the Paris Olympics, where Team USA is setting a new world record for the 400 meter hurdles.

Well, we want to begin with that Russian airstrike on a supermarket in Ukraine, killing at least 11 people. Take a look at these dramatic pictures of the scene. This is in the Donetsk region. More than three dozen people are hurt, and rescue operations are underway. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posting on social media that people are still trapped in the rubble. He added that Russia will be held accountable. That attack comes after what's said to be a massive Ukrainian drone attack in Russia's Lipetsk region. The governor there says that several people were hurt and energy infrastructure is damaged. This is on the heels of what Russia says was a Ukrainian troop incursion into the Kursk region earlier this week.

Let's get to CNN's Nick Paton Walsh following all of this for us. Nick, let's start with this rescue operation at the Ukrainian supermarket. What more do we know?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Look, obviously, the number that we need to know the answer to is how many people were inside when what seems to be a missile hit the supermarket. Now, I can't say precisely who is in there, but on a Friday morning, you would expect to see civilians stocking up pre- weekend. I've often been in supermarkets like this too. You can find military in there to purchasing supplies. But, this is clearly a civilian target. And we've seen this happen when Russia is experiencing battlefield setbacks elsewhere that they choose to hit, clearly, civilian targets like this. And you can see, just from those images, the extent of the damage and the death toll has risen from one to 11 in a matter of hours. I think it's fair to say it may continue to get larger.

And as I say, we've seen attacks like this repeatedly from Russia. Earlier in the week, Vladimir Putin called the incursion into Kursk in Russia by Ukrainian forces, a major provocation, claiming that Ukrainian forces were firing indiscriminately at residential areas. Well, here we have evidence of what Russia has been doing for the past two years, which is repeatedly hitting civilian targets. This, I have to say, looks like it seems targeted, given how the destruction is visited mostly upon the building, Rahel.

SOLOMON: And Nick, as you were speaking, the death toll actually rose from 11 to now 14. Talk to me a little bit more about what we know on the Ukrainian side. Ukraine reportedly expanding its cross-border assault into Russia. You sort of touched on it there. What more can you share with us?

WALSH: Yeah. Look, I mean, we're in day four now of this extraordinary Ukrainian surprise attack into Russia, one that they have not even really stepped forward and said, is them? Yes, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sort of hinted at how Russia needs to pay the price and suggested that it may be them, and clearly it is. But, it's a reason, I think, partly down to them wanting to catch Russia off guard. They've done that. And we're now not only hearing that the town of Sudzha, seems to be under Ukrainian assault or control, depending on whose account you listen to. Clearly, Russia is not in full control of it. They're struggling to get troops in multiple directions.

But, overnight, there appears to have been a significant attack on a convoy of troops and ammunition, further away from that, possibly losing using cluster munitions. If you study the scene, it's the vehicles that are most heavily damaged. That looks, judging by what you can see there, to have taken multiple Russian lives, according to videos from there. And there are suggestions that Ukrainian forces may be in clashes with Russian troops in multiple points around the compass from Sudzha, possibly over five kilometers in different directions.

So, clearly, this incursion is expanding, and there is a paucity of information as to precisely where they are. They're posting videos, suggesting they might be in one town, by showing the town sign. That's not evident in itself that the forces necessarily are in combat there. But, it shows the Kremlin are really struggling to keep this under control. It utterly undermines the statement of Valery Gerasimov two days ago that the advance had been halted and is definitely not happening.

And so, Rahel, the big question here is, what is the wider move by Kyiv here? They've been seeing bad headlines from the frontlines on the Donbas for weeks now. Now, they have, for them, a good military headline, is there a wider strategic goal, or are they simply trying to show Russia's weakness in their border areas?

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The latter has an impact, but it isn't necessarily going to in the minds of critics inside Ukraine and their military strategy explain the use of significant resources for something like this. The jury still out on the wider strategic role of all of this. Rahel.

SOLOMON: Yeah, and only time will tell, I suppose. Nick Paton Walsh, thanks for breaking it all down for us. Thank you, reporting there from London.

Well, with Middle East on edge fearing the possibility of a full-scale regional war, international mediators are making a renewed push for ceasefire in Gaza. The conflict there has no end in sight. And a new Israeli operation in Khan Younis is displacing scores of Palestinian families once again. The U.S., Qatar, Egypt, all stepping up pressure on Israel and Hamas to resume talks next week, saying that there is no time for quote "excuses from any party". They say that a framework agreement is now on the table with only the details left to conclude. The mediators plan to present what they call a final bridging proposal in either Cairo or Doha.

And with tensions also rising along the Israel-Lebanon border, Israeli officials say that they are now looking to build a tent city in the south that could accommodate tens of thousands of people, as they prepare for a wider escalation. The U.S. says that it wants everyone to step back from the brink.

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SABRINA SINGH, DEPUTY PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: Now, our main focus is making sure that we're postured to make sure that our forces are protected. We're postured to come to the defense of Israel, should we need to. But, what we really want to see is tensions de-escalate.

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SOLOMON: All right. Let's bring in our Jeremy Diamond, following all of these developments from Haifa in northern Israel. Jeremy, would an agreement, if it should occur, present an opportunity for a bit of an off-ramp for Iran's retaliatory threats?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there is certainly that possibility, and that also does appear to be at least partly the intention of the United States, Egypt and Qatar in calling for this summit next week, which Israel has already agreed that it will attend. We are still waiting to get Hamas' response as to whether they will send a delegation. But, it seems likely at this point that those negotiations over a ceasefire and hostage deal will indeed resume next Thursday in either Doha, Qatar or in Cairo, Egypt.

And with that week between now and then, there is an opportunity for Iran to wait and see how it's going to respond. It has been vowing retaliation for the assassination of Hamas' political leader in the Iranian capital last week. But now, the question is, will they perhaps give more space for that diplomacy to happen? We have heard indication so far that Iran is potentially considering a ceasefire deal as something that could be a substitute for, or could at least lessen, perhaps, the retaliation that they were intending to deliver in the form of a strike on Israel.

But, there is still a big question mark, and that is to say that even if a ceasefire is good enough for Iran to avoid this regional escalation, will it be enough for Hezbollah? There have been indications in the last 48 hours or so that Hezbollah, which is based in Lebanon, to Israel's north, far closer, of course, than the Iranian regime, that Hezbollah could act independently, and they have something else to retaliate for. Beyond the killing of Hamas' political leader, they also have vowed to retaliate for the killing of their senior most military commander, Fuad Shukr, in a strike in Beirut just hours before Haniyeh's assassination.

And so, there is this real possibility, as officials have indicated to us who have reviewed key intelligence that Hezbollah is making preparations for a strike, could strike before Iran, and could also strike independently of what Iran decides. But, there is no question that if a ceasefire can be achieved before any of those strikes take place, it would considerably reduce tensions in this region, which really feels like it's very much on the verge of boiling over. Rahel.

SOLOMON: And Jeremy, you sort of mentioned the assassination there. How does that change in Hamas' political leadership affect talks now?

DIAMOND: Well, it's hard to see, because on the one hand, you have Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated. He was viewed as somewhat more pragmatic, someone who is more willing to make concessions to actually get to a ceasefire and hostage deal, now replaced by Yahya Sinwar, Hamas' leader in Gaza, who is viewed as kind of more militant, more extreme within the organization, has been more resistant to ceasefires in the past, making some very significant and heavy-handed demands.

But, the reality is that Sinwar has had veto power effectively over these ceasefire negotiations for months now. In many ways, he has been the man with the power because of the fact that he is in Gaza. He is the one in command of Hamas' fighters in the Gaza Strip. And so, a ceasefire agreement couldn't forward without his agreement anyways.

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But now, you have that counterbalance in Ismail Haniyeh that may have existed is now gone. Yahya Sinwar fully empowered. So, in many ways, nothing changes, because Sinwar already had so much of the power. But, at the same time, it does formalize his power and strengthen his hold on power. We'll see whether or not he is willing to get to a ceasefire, regardless of who Hamas has in charge. Clearly, over the last few weeks, it has been the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been throwing up a 11th hour obstacles to this deal, a 11th hour demands that could prove problematic. And so, the resolution of Israel's position may ultimately be more critical than Hamas' to whether or not we get to a ceasefire.

SOLOMON: Yeah. It's really interesting context there. Jeremy Diamond reporting live, thank you. Jeremy.

Austrian authorities have now detained a third suspect, as they investigate an alleged ISIS-inspired plot to target a Taylor Swift concert. They say that the 18-year-old Iraqi national does not have direct links to the planned attack in Vienna, but was arrested under the quote, "broad scope of their investigation". The main suspect seen here is a 19-year-old Austrian with North Macedonian roots. Officials say that they found explosives, machetes and knives at his home, as well as extensive ISIS propaganda. All three of Swift's concerts planned for Vienna have been canceled. But, despite this and despite their disappointment, her fans still turned out in the streets, singing their favorite songs, trying to make the best of a scary situation.

And our Salma Abdelaziz is in Vienna with more.

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SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Austrian authorities are following leads in this fast-moving investigation into a suspected terror plot on a Taylor Swift concert here in Vienna. The latest development, an 18-year-old Iraqi national is now in police custody, under question. He had also pledged allegiance to ISIS, according to authorities, and operated in the same circles as this 19-year-old mastermind, who had also pledged allegiance to ISIS and has confessed to the plot. According to the authorities, it is the age of these suspects that is really concerning to authorities who say they are radicalized online.

OMAR HAIJAWI-PIRCHNER, AUSTRIAN DIRECTOR OF SECURITY SERVICES: It's very worrying. We can see that in Austria, we have very young guys that are radicalized due to the fact that they are using the online propaganda that is brought out from ISIS and also ISKP, and we could see that they have a very high radicalization and that they are also motivated to do attacks.

ABDELAZIZ: But, none of that has stopped the Swifties from coming together. Yes, the concerts are canceled, but they have absolutely filled the streets of Vienna. Take a look at this one organic gathering that's really been going on now for a couple of days. People coming in their Swifty outfits and their Taylor Swift outfits, singing in the streets, dancing in the streets, exchanging those all imported beaded bracelets with one simple phrase, you can make a friend. Do you want to change bracelets with me?

And what you're going to hear everyone here tell you, and many of them are young girls, is, yes, we are so grateful to be out of the crosshairs of potential violence, but we need to create a safe space to come together and celebrate, and that's exactly what you're looking at here, a safe space for these youngsters, really, to come together and have that celebration whey weren't able to have.

Salma Abdelaziz, CNN, Vienna.

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SOLOMON: All right. Well, Haiti has been torn apart by gang violence for years. But, earlier this year, that fighting and the unrest escalated, causing a humanitarian crisis. Now, the weary population is hoping that the deployment of Kenyan forces to try and tackle the violence will lead to peace.

CNN's Larry Madowo traveled to the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, and has this report. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Gun battles rage on the street outside one of Haiti's biggest hospitals. Kenyan police here to help local forces take back the capital from the gangs. The first 400 officers from Nairobi quickly learning how volatile Port-au-Prince can be.

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Minutes earlier, CNN was touring what is left of the hospital after gangs trashed it. The country's interim Prime Minister telling us, it was just reclaimed.

GARRY CONILLE, INTERIM PRIME MINISTER OF HAITI: There is no tactical or strategic value for the gangs taking over this. This is really just about completely discrediting the state.

MADOWO: Is enough funding coming through for the multinational security support mission here?

CONILLE: Unfortunately, not enough, and not quickly enough. Now, we understand there are a lot of emergencies going on out and all that. We understand there is, to a certain extent, some Haiti fatigue. The good news is that there is hope.

MADOWO (voice-over): Midway through the interview, shots ring out.

MADOWO: Right.

CONILLE: This was huge.

MADOWO (voice-over): The security details springs into action.

MADOWO: We've been told we have to leave now. We've had shots in the air. The gangs are getting close up.

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MADOWO (voice-over): The Prime Minister and our team are rushed away.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go. Go. Go.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got your microphone.

MADOWO (voice-over): The constant menace of gang violence dominating life here, even for the country's leader. As night falls, we head out on patrol with Kenya's elite police forces who have been brought in to help turn things around.

MADOWO: They're using four of these American-supplied MRAP, or tactical vehicles, and we're going to patrol from the airport, which used to be under gang control until very recently, into the downtown area, which is still contested.

MADOWO (voice-over): CNN was granted exclusive access to film the Kenyans leading an international security force that is expected to grow to 2,500 officers from 12 countries, funded mainly by the United States. Haitian police lead the way, as a convoy scan surrounding buildings for any suspicious activity. We soon come under fire. Dozens of bullets hit the vehicles.

MADOWO: The officers are very casual about it. They're calling it rain. I guess they're used to it. We're hearing a few more from this side of the truck.

MADOWO (voice-over): Some of these men in Haiti say they have fought al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorists on the Kenya-Somalia border.

MADOWO: Do you think you guys can bring peace here?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have a lot of confidence that we are going to bring this battle.

MADOWO (voice-over): More guns shots as we turn back, but the police decide not to engage.

Back at headquarters, the damage from the night becomes clear. With 85 percent of Port-au-Prince under gang control, civilians here are paying a heavy price. This is one of the few operational hospitals in the capital, located in the city's red zone and surrounded by gang territory. 22-year-old Naftali Mahdi (ph) has brought her malnourished baby in for treatment. She was raped by a gang member, she tells me, and has had to flee her home because of the violence. The hospital lost half of its staff last year. Those remaining are determined not to give up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have to fight back.

MADOWO: You can leave it for the gang members.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't (ph) leave it for the gangs. Someone has to fight back. Someone has to stand up.

MADOWO (voice-over): With an estimated two million Haitians living in fear of being raped or killed in their homes, fighting back against the gangs is now an international effort. Haitian forces and their allies need resources, but leaders here tell us funding and equipment are not arriving fast enough.

GODFREY OTUNGA, COMMANDER, MULTINATIONAL SECURITY SUPPORT MISSION HAITI: It's a matter of support. If they can be given the equipment that they need, these are the brave and courageous people.

MADOWO (voice-over): Through it all, this wary nation still has high hopes for peace.

Larry Madowo, CNN, Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOLOMON: All right. Still ahead for us, Donald Trump goes before reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort. Details of his wide-ranging and lengthy news conference. Is his campaign changing strategy now that he is facing a new election opponent? Plus, they don't agree on much, but Vice President Kamala Harris and Donald Trump have agreed to debate. We will tell you when, and get a preview from our political panel, when we come back.

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SOLOMON: Welcome back. The last U.S. presidential debate was a historic one that turned the race upside down. Now, the first face-off between U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump is set. The two have agreed to debate September 10 on ABC. During a wide-ranging press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort, Donald Trump backed down from his threats to skip the debate next month. It will be the first debate for Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee.

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DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: She hasn't done an interview. She can't do an interview. She is barely competent, and she can't do an interview. But, I look forward to the debates, because I think we have to set the record straight.

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SOLOMON: Vice President Harris is heading west today, holding a rally in Arizona with her running mate, Tim Walz. She told reporters Thursday that she welcomes the opportunity to debate Donald Trump.

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KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE U.S., (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I'm glad that he has finally agreed to a debate on September 10. I'm looking forward to it, and hope he shows up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you open to more debates?

HARRIS: I am happy to have that conversation about an additional debate right after September 10.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: Now, the Trump campaign says they have agreed to three total debates, but the Harris camp, as you just heard there, has only signed on for the ABC debate at this point. President Joe Biden, meantime, will appear publicly with Harris next week. It will be the first time they appear together since he dropped out of the race.

Let's get to CNN Reporter Daniel Strauss, who was in Washington, standing by for us. But first, let's turn to CNN Senior Reporter Edward-Isaac Dovere. Edward-Isaac, let's start with you. What do we know about the Biden-Harris appearance?

EDWARD-ISAAC DOVERE, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well, look, it will be next Thursday in the D.C. area in Maryland. It will be the first time that the two of them have been seen together since they were on the tarmac at the prisoner swap, but the first time in a political context since Joe Biden dropped out of the race. And so, this will be the active visual passing of the torch, as it were, in the run-up to the Democratic Convention, which will start the following week.

SOLOMON: And talk to us a little bit about sort of the timing of this, Edward-Isaac, as far as we know. What can we expect in terms of when they do in this political arena show-up?

DOVERE: Well, look, that's happening as Harris is campaigning now with her new running mate, trying to introduce herself and him, Tim Walz, to the country in a way that obviously hadn't been the case before, the last two and a half weeks, when they weren't -- when she wasn't even running for President. She is also getting a lot of questions about when she will be off script. She has been doing a lot of scripted events on teleprompters. And the question there is about an interview. Let's take a listen to what she said yesterday when she was asked about when she might do an interview.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There has been a lot of questions about when you're going to sit down for your first interview since being the nominee.

HARRIS: I've talked to my team.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you have an update on that?

HARRIS: I want us to get an interview scheduled before the end of the month.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DOVERE: That's, of course, not a definitive answer, she has talked to her team, the end of the month, maybe. So, we'll see what that actually results in.

SOLOMON: OK. Also I have to point out, it's August 9th. So, the end of the month is still quite a ways away. Edward-Isaac Dovere, thank you.

All right. Let's bring in Daniel Strauss now. Daniel, I think one of the biggest news nuggets to come out of the event from Trump is that he agreed. He actually agreed now to that September 10th debate with Kamala Harris. In fact, he says that there should be more debates. Talk us through what you've learned in terms of the strategy there.

DANIEL STRAUSS, CNN REPORTER: Yeah. I mean, it's not that he agreed. He went back after deciding he didn't want to do the debate, to doing the debate against the Democratic nominee, and originally, that was Joe Biden. But then, after Biden dropped out, chaos ensued everywhere. So, now he is back to agreeing to that debate and two others. And look, it's hard not to read the conventional tea leaves about this sort of back and forth with Trump on debates, simply because a candidate usually pushes for debates when they want to change the dynamic and the course of a race, and that's pretty clear that that seems to be what the Trump campaign wants right now.

Trump himself has not campaigned a huge amount this week. He is also starting to lag slightly behind Harris in national polling. So, two debates is definitely something that you could see as an incentive for Trump and his team.

SOLOMON: And we'll see if she agrees to it after September 10th. Daniel Strauss, thank you. Edward-Isaac Dovere, thank you as well.

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All right. Let's continue this further with our panel. Democratic Strategist Mark Longabaugh is with me. He is the former Senior Strategist for the 2016 Bernie Sanders Campaign. We also have former House Republican Charlie Dent. He is the Executive Director of the Aspen Institute Congressional Program. Good to see you both.

Charlie, let me start with you. It has been widely reported that the Trump-Vance campaign, they're trying to regain some momentum here. I want to just show you just some of the lines that have come out from major publications after the event yesterday. So, The New York Times pointed out that his remarks were littered with falsehoods. The Washington Post called it a meandering news conference, even The Wall Street Journal, the editorial board, questioning a few days ago if he is going to blow this election. Charlie, how much did that news conference help or hurt him, from your perspective?

CHARLIE DENT, FORMER U.S. HOUSE REPUBLICAN, & EXEC. DIRECTOR, ASPEN INSTITUTE CONGRESSIONAL PROGRAM: Well, the point of news conference, it seemed to me, was to basically bring the focus back on Trump. So, in that regard, Trump was successful. Whether or not that press conference helped him, is a completely different matter. His message was certainly very scattered, unfocused. He was obsessed with crowd size, insulting Harris' intelligence. He was really not policy focused at all, that bizarre rant about Martin Luther King's crowd size, or all sorts of things. So, it was a really bizarre news conference.

But, he did agree to the debate, just for the reason stated, that he needs to change the dynamic of this campaign. It has been reset, not to his advantage. And so, he is looking to get some new advantage. But, I don't think that press conference did him a lot of good, other than we were talking about Donald Trump today and a lot less about Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.

SOLOMON: Interesting point. Mark, let me ask, one thing we heard from Trump is that Harris is avoiding news conferences. Here is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: She is not doing any news conference. You know why she is not doing it? Because she can't do a news conference. She doesn't know how to do a news conference. She is not smart enough to do a news conference.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: So, I'll get to the point of him attacking her intelligence in just a moment. But, I do want to ask, Harris said yesterday that she is working on setting something up by the end of this month. It's August 9th. Why wait so long to talk to the press?

MARK LONGABAUGH, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST, & FORMER SENIOR STRATEGIST, BERNIE SANDERS 2016 CAMPAIGN: Look, I mean, she sees the nomination of the Democratic Party within the last two weeks. And so, I think they're still on a whirlwind here, and we're rolling into our convention, and I think there is a lot of preparation that needs to be paid for that. She is going to meet with the press. She is going to do plenty of interviews. So, I think this is really a tempest over really not much of anything.

SOLOMON: Charlie, let me get back to you on what you said sort of at the end there, that these debates sort of present an opportunity for Trump to change the dynamic. What would he need to do in that debate to change the momentum and to perhaps change the dynamic that's taking place right now?

DENT: Well, it's clear to me that his attacks on her ethnicity -- on Harris' ethnicity and Walz's service record are striking out. They're failing miserably. I think for Trump, if he wants to reset this race properly, he is going to have to actually control himself and try to talk about policy. He knows he has an advantage on the border. He has an advantage on the economy and inflation, and according to that Ipsos poll, even has an advantage on foreign policy, which surprised me. That's it.

So, if he can stay focused on policy. He talked a little bit about the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. That was the only -- that was actually a fairly coherent message he was trying to present yesterday. But, it gets lost in all the noise with all the insults and all the bizarre rants. So, if he can control himself and simply stay policy focused on those areas where he is strong, maybe he can reset this. But, it's a close race. So, he is still in the game.

SOLOMON: Mark, when I googled Tim Walz this morning, at least for illustrative purposes, the first thing that came up was his military record. That's before searches for his net worth, that's before searches for his age. Is the Harris-Walz campaign doing enough to address these questions, to address these GOP attacks that he had timed his retirement to avoid deployment? Are they doing enough on that front?

LONGABAUGH: Yeah. I mean, listen, I actually think they've done a very good job at parrying off these crazy attacks that the Republicans are trying to make. As Congressman Dent said here, neither of their attacks are really sticking. Look, Walz served his country for 24 years. Donald Trump, on the other hand, took five deferments during the Vietnam era, once for bone spurs. So, I don't think the Republican Party has got a lot of strength on this issue of service to country. So, I think that's been knocked down pretty good. And I think we're rolling into a convention here within a week, and I

think we're going to have a great convention. I think these two are going to tell their story, and the country is going to learn a lot more about them, and they're going to lay on an agenda for the future, which, again, Congressman Dent point out, Donald Trump still is not doing.

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So, I think we're -- we've got real momentum here. We've got the upper hand in this race, and we just got to keep pushing it.

SOLOMON: Charlie, Trump says he hasn't changed his strategy because the issues are the same. Take a listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I haven't recalibrated strategy at all. It's the same policies, open borders, weak on crime. She is -- I think she is worse than Biden, because he got forced into the position. She was there long before. She destroyed San Francisco.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: So, Charlie, I wonder -- I mean, I take your point that he should focus on the issues. But, should he change his strategy? I mean, the issues are the same, but it is a different candidate. The liabilities that seem to hurt Biden aren't the same liabilities for Harris.

DENT: Well, the challenge for Donald Trump and his campaign is the Trump campaign has been actually fairly disciplined and organized this time around. The challenge, of course, is Donald Trump is completely undisciplined and completely off message. He has no message discipline. That's the problem. This is not a -- this can't last for too long where you can have a disciplined campaign, but an undisciplined candidate. He simply can't focus on the message. Yeah, he has talked -- he does talk about those issues, but he doesn't do it effectively. He doesn't know how to prosecute the case.

Frankly, Vance is better at prosecuting the case on the issues than is Trump. But, Trump is just too scattered. He is so obsessed with crowd size, his grievances, the governor of Georgia, Harris, he said, turned black just last week. I mean, this is crazy stuff. He gets on that and he is completely distracted from what otherwise could be a fairly effective message. That is his problem. It's all about him and his inability to control himself.

SOLOMON: Mark, let me let you have the last word here. One thing he also, well, his advisors, at least, told reporters is that this recent good run that Harris and Walz are experiencing, it's just a honeymoon. It's going to soon end. That's what they say. Let's assume for a moment that is true, just for this moment. How does the campaign keep that momentum going so that it's not just a honeymoon phase?

LONGABAUGH: Well, I think we've got to have a great convention, as I just suggested. I mean, I think the -- Harris and Walz are going to have to tell the American public about who they are, where they come from, what their histories are, what their service has been, and then I think they've got to lay out an agenda for the future. And I think they're going to do that. I think, from my point of view, it needs to be a populist economic kitchen table kind of message, protecting Social Security, increasing the minimum wage, reducing the cost of prescription drugs, those kinds of things, protecting a woman's right to choose. I think those kinds of issues are going to give them the upper hand in this race and catapult them into Labor Day, and I think that's what we've got to do.

SOLOMON: OK. We'll leave it here. A lot to watch. Mark Longabaugh, Charlie Dent, thank you both for being with us. Have a great weekend.

LONGABAUGH: Take care.

SOLOMON: Away from the campaign trail, Donald Trump's federal election interference case is slowly moving forward. Now that the case has been transferred back to the lower courts, federal judge Tanya Chutkan has regained control, and she is asking for both prosecutors and defense attorneys to propose a new schedule, and that deadline is today. But, Special Counsel Jack Smith's office wants to put on the brakes. Prosecutors say they're still working through what the U.S. Supreme Court's immunity decision means for this case and how it proceeds. This move could push any activity into next month.

All right. Still ahead, the U.S. men are set to take on France for the gold in basketball. We are live in Paris with a preview of the final weekend of the Olympics. We'll be right back.

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[11:35:00]

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SOLOMON: Welcome back. You're watching CNN Newsroom. I'm Rahel Solomon live in New York.

And we're heading into the final weekend of the Summer Olympics in Paris. U.S. Men's Basketball will take on France for the gold. That's after the team beat Serbia in the semifinal match. Saturday's game will be a rematch of the gold medal match from Tokyo. Track and field now, Botswana's Letsile Tebogo beast U.S. sprinters, and I practiced that, but -- beat U.S. sprinters Noah Lyles and Kenny Bednarek in the highly anticipated men's 200 meter sprint. Tebogo clocked a new African record to claim the gold. Lyles took the bronze. The news came that he was actually suffering from COVID.

Looking at the medal count, China has 31 gold medals. The U.S. has 30. Australia has 18.

Joining us now from Paris is CNN World Sport's Coy Wire. Coy, there is something there for everyone. On the one hand, it's great news for Botswana. Great news for Africa. On the other hand, if you were a fan of Noah Lyles and you were rooting for him after that 100 meter, it's kind of crushing.

COY WIRE, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yeah, absolutely. High expectations, of course, for him. And it looks like we won't be seeing him in the four by 100 meter relay tonight. They are still probably looking to be favorites in that. So, we'll keep our eye on that later this evening. But, we have to talk about American Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone. She has done it again, Rahel, breaking her own world record in the 400 meter hurdles with a time of 50.37 seconds. Nobody before had ever won back to back Olympic goals in this event. She turned 25 this week in Paris. She has broken the world record now six times. I asked her about the big moment just moments ago,

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SYDNEY MCLAUGHLIN-LEVRONE, 2-TIME WOMEN'S 400M HURDLES GOLD MEDALIST: -- real, honestly --

WIRE: Yeah.

MCLAUGHLIN-LEVRONE: -- a full circle moment. First, I feel like full Olympic moment with friends and family there. So, it was just -- it was a great night.

WIRE: And we wanted to wish you a very happy birthday at these Parisian Olympics.

MCLAUGHLIN-LEVRONE: Thank you.

WIRE: You can make any wish you wanted. Congrats, champ. Yeah.

MCLAUGHLIN-LEVRONE: Yeah.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: We're not having any fun here in Paris, Rahel. All right. Also javelin, Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan stunning the world with an Olympic record throw of 92.97 meters in the second round of the javelin final, and it was enough to be the best. Nadeem claimed the gold medal and dethroned India's Neeraj Chopra as Olympic champ. Nadeem is now Pakistan's first Olympic medal winner since 1992. And this just in, breaking news. Today is the first day of the highly anticipated first ever Olympics breaking competition. B-Girls and B-Boys will be repping their nation's popping and locking for gold, and watch out for Team USA's Sunny Choi, Rahel, 35-years-old. She found a second calling in life. I caught up with her ahead of these games to talk about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUNNY CHOI, TEAM USA BREAKING: I was previously a Director of Global Creative Operations at Estee Lauder. I was comfortable. There were all these like -- but I had a plan B. So, what's really stopping me? And it turns out it was just like not wanting to fail, and especially not wanting to fail publicly, and not wanting to let myself down. And so, I just, like, wasn't allowing myself to dream. So, I was like, you know what? I'm going to allow myself to, like, have this childhood dream and see it to fruition. (END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: Incredible story, Rahel. Never too late to trade in your gig to become an Olympian. How is your pop and lock going? How is it going?

SOLOMON: No. Listen, nobody wants to see me dance. So, thank God I can do what I currently do because --

WIRE: Yeah. And I think I just tore my pants.

SOLOMON: -- (inaudible). But, you got it, Coy. You got it. And it doesn't surprise me that you could pop, lock and drop it, because you are Coy Wire. What can't you do?

WIRE: Anything for you, Rahel.

SOLOMON: Enjoy Paris. Thank you, Coy.

WIRE: Thanks.

SOLOMON: All right. Coming up for us, Debby may no longer be a hurricane, but it is still a storm threat. Coming up, parts of the southeast still hurting, but millions of people on the East Coast are now at risk.

[11:40:00]

Plus, how healthy is the U.S. consumer? We will take a closer look at everything, from clothing and groceries to even international travel. We're going to details ahead on Bank of America's new report. We'll be right back.

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SOLOMON: Welcome back. A quick check of the markets. Let's start with the U.S. markets, where the Dow is currently lower, but fairly fractionally lower, but red, nonetheless. The NASDAQ is up, but fractionally, but green, nonetheless. S&P doing the best among them right now, up about one tenth of a percent. Let's look at Europe and see how markets closed there, green across the board, FTSE 100 closing up about a third of a percent, CAC 40, about the same. And taking a look at Asian markets, which closed more of a mixed picture here, the Nikkei closed up, I'd like to see that as of late, closing up about half a percent there, Hang Seng, a little bit more than 1.1 percent, and the Shanghai Composite off about let's call it a quarter of one percent.

All right. Back here at home, the U.S. labor market may be showing signs of cooling, but apparently, that is not stopping consumers from flocking to the Paris Olympics. Bank of America reports that aggregated credit card and debit card spending per household fell in July by 0.4 percent year-over-year, but it also pointed out that international travel remains a highlight for consumers, as they prefer to buy services rather than goods. Bank of America also reporting that consumers are becoming more price sensitive. So, we wanted to understand more fully how healthy is the U.S. consumer. I want to bring in now Senior Economist for Bank of America, David

Tinsley, who joins us now from London. David, good to have you. I thought it was a really interesting report, and the headline was pretty clever, facing hurdles or the high jump. So, walk us through some of your takeaways here.

DAVID TINSLEY, SENIOR ECONOMIST, BANK OF AMERICA INSTITUTE: Thanks for having me. I mean, I think the key takeaway is that the U.S. consumer is still in the race, if you want to stretch the Olympic, but is down a little bit on a year, but it's not worse in July than in June, and actually between those two months, spending (inaudible) three tenths. As you were saying, service is sort of a story, really. People are still spending on experiences. Again, the Olympics is a big part of that in a way. Well, of course, not everyone is lucky enough to go out to Paris to watch that. But, those that are increasing their spending last year, around 27 percent. And we did take a look back to see what the figure of the London Olympics, as a sort of comparator, and that was 23 percent.

So, those that can are spending out there, and indeed on the Taylor Swift gigs as well, spending there up about 30 percent across all the European cities.

[11:45:00]

So, the U.S. could competing for the metals, it's still, which is really useful, I think, for the world economy generally, because the U.S. consumer is still a big driver of global -- the global growth story,

SOLOMON: Absolutely. And how would you describe what's powering the consumer? Is it higher wages, higher pay, or are they tapping their savings? Are they increasing their credit?

TINSLEY: Yeah. That's a really interesting key question, really. I mean, I think the answer, the key answer is it's the labor market. So, when we look at our data, and we did take a look, obviously, we had a slightly weak payrolls report last week, and there is some discussion around the extent to which it's kind of blown around by the hurricane, those numbers, we looked at the unemployment payments into our own accounts, and we have these 69 million consumer and small business accounts, which we could look at the data for at the institute. And we did see a small tick up in unemployment payments going into those accounts, which would be consistent, I think, with a modest deterioration in the labor market. But it's modest.

And I think really important, when you look at what people are getting, their wages and salaries after tax into their accounts and our data, you're still seeing pretty solid growth for the lower income households, around three percent year-on-year. That's the key. Also, people do have money in (TECHNICAL DIFFICULTY) pandemic. So, there are a few other supporting factors as well, I think.

SOLOMON: If you had to describe for someone at a cocktail party the U.S. consumer in a word, how would you describe the consumer?

TINSLEY: Stable, I think in a word (inaudible).

SOLOMON: Can I ask, were there any things that made you, perhaps, raise an eyebrow and think I got to keep an eye on that data point? One thing that caught my attention was that the number of people taking a hardship distribution from their 401(k)s rose. It was slight, but it still was an increase. And I wonder what you make of that, anything else you saw that thought, got to keep an eye on that.

TINSLEY: Yes, a good point. Yes. Around the edges of this consumer story, there were things like that. So, again, in our 401(k) data, we are seeing a small rise in a very low percentage of people who are pulling money out. And of course, we can't really see what they're pulling out money, what to do with it, but that has risen credit card utilization. So, the amount of credit card balances have relative to their limits, that's risen a bit relative to where it hit in the lows after the pandemic. So, I think around the edges, and I think the New York Fed this week published some data on delinquencies for credit cards, and across the financial system, those are rising. So, around the edges, there are things to watch, for sure. We shouldn't be, I think, completely relaxed about the position, but I think for now, it's stable.

SOLOMON: Yeah, stable is better than unstable. And let me just ask you, David, lastly, how do you -- what do you make of the more value offerings that you're seeing from consumers or looking for more discounts or promotions? What do you make of that?

TINSLEY: Yeah. That's an important (TECHNICAL DIFFICULTY) picture. So, what's happened is, spending growth has tracked lower, roughly in line with inflation. How are people feeling some modest tech wins from inflationary pressure slowing labor market? How are they eking out their dollar? And one way, we've seen quite clearly in our data is they're raising their spending in discount clothing. They're raising their spending on discount groceries relative to what they're spending in those categories as a whole. So, I think people are becoming more price sensitive. They still, in a sense, have the scars on their back for the -- from the big spike in inflation we saw. So, people are looking for better deals, in essence.

SOLOMON: Fascinating. David, so great to have you, especially as we continue to watch the health of the U.S. consumer but as we also try to understand what's happening with the labor market. Is it softening perhaps sooner than we expected after the jobs report, or is it perhaps maybe not as weakening as we had a thought after jobless claims yesterday? David Tinsley, we will have you back, I'm sure. Thank you so much.

TINSLEY: Thank you. Thank you.

SOLOMON: All right. Still ahead, you may love the scent of freshly baked pretzels. I know I do. But, would you like to smell like one? It's a different story. Find out more, when we come back.

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[11:50:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOLOMON: Welcome back. The Northeastern U.S. is now facing the wrath of Debby. The storm left a water log south in its wake as it races up the eastern seaboard. It has triggered flash flood and tornado warnings in Washington, D.C., and it's expected to bring heavy rainfall to New York City and New England over the next couple of days. It is still affecting the Carolinas. Take a look at these three kids in this video. Thankfully, they were rescued by the Raleigh Fire Department. At least seven people have been killed in the southeast since Debby first hit Florida as a hurricane on Monday.

For more on Debby, let's bring in CNN Meteorologist Elisa Raffa to tell us a bit more about the latest of the storm. Elisa.

ELISA RAFFA, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Still multi-faceted, still with multiple threats, just flooded roadways really across a lot of the Carolinas here. And you can see, you shouldn't drive through those if especially it's got a road close sign for a reason, but flood waters there in Fayetteville, and then tornado damage just tearing apart homes and schools in parts of the Carolinas as well. This is what's left. It is post-tropical Debby, meaning it's just losing the skeleton of a hurricane, but it's still pumped with so much tropical moisture, gusty winds and that tornado, dry wind gusts up to 45 miles per hour still, as it moves much faster up at the northeast.

We do have a tornado watch in effect until two o'clock, including places like Philadelphia, some of the suburbs of New York, as we're getting some of these kind of outer bands. What's left of the outer bands? It could still have some cells that rotate, and we saw that this morning with some tornado warnings for D.C., right now, not finding any warnings, but these little cells, again, do have the capability of rotating, and we're watching that closely.

Heavy rain has been a problem. Washington, D.C. had warnings this morning for one to one and a half inches of rain that fell in just 20 minutes. When water falls that fast, it's really hard for it to drain and go anywhere. That's why we have so many flood warnings in effect. Charleston still dealing with some of these flood warnings as well, after they got the brunt of the rain from Debby, at least in the Carolinas here, 10 to 20 inches around Charleston, up around Wilmington as well. That footprint of rain going all the way up to the Canadian border. We're talking about flood watches in effect, again, through D.C., Philly, up towards New York, upstate New York, even parts of New England, New Hampshire and Vermont. So, we'll continue to find maybe three to six inches of rain, maybe even more than that, and that could come down very quickly.

So, you can see the rest of Debby continues to swirl up through New England as we go through the day today after dinner. Time again, it continues to exit. By tonight, we should see the last of the showers finally getting out of here, maybe a few left by tomorrow morning, but really starting to wrap up.

Here is a look at some of these rain totals. Again, pretty easily, some two to four inches, really, across a lot of upstate New York, could find some totals approaching six inches or more. If it comes down fast, that's where you get the threat for flash flooding. As we go into next week, we're watching another area of development out in the Atlantic. That could likely become our next named storm. So, again, we're not done yet. We're only getting started here, as we go into hurricane season. Rahel.

SOLOMON: OK. I hate to hear that, but we have been warned. Elisa Raffa, thank you.

All right. Before we go, one more thing.

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OK. So, you may not notice the delicious-looking pretzels in this commercial.

[11:55:00]

But, Auntie Anne's isn't actually promoting a new edible treat. It's actually a new fragrance. It's called "Knead: Eau De Pretzel." On its Instagram site, Auntie Anne's posted "infused with notes of buttery dough, salt and a hint of sweetness. Knead transforms the iconic aroma you love into a wearable sense. And if you want to wear it, it comes out on August 14." I have to wonder if this is a marketing ploy. This is a little bit of a brand style, just my speculation. I don't know. If you like it and you buy it, let me know what you think.

All right. We know your time is money. So, thank you for spending some time with me today. I'm Rahel Solomon live in New York. Stick with CNN. One World, it's coming up next.

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